


Two for the Show

by JillyBeans_storycorner



Series: One for the Money [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological Torture, first person POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-06-10 04:50:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6940528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JillyBeans_storycorner/pseuds/JillyBeans_storycorner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The nefarious Dr. Shepherd strikes agin, and the team once more is racing against time as one their own wakes up in their own worst nightmare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Over

**Author's Note:**

> The second installment in my ‘One for the Money’ series. Shortly after rescuing Steve from a sinister and mysterious tormentor, Steve fears that ‘Dr. Shepherd’ might not be through with him. However, things take a twisted turn.....

_…….“I’d never hurt anyone. I’d never kill anyone.”_

_“You know that’s a lie Steven. You can’t hide that part of yourself, no matter how hard you try. Even ‘Commander McGarrett’ has killed. ‘Bad people’, of course: terrorists, murders, people who ‘deserve it’. Much like how they deserved it for flaunting what you could never have.”_

A knock on the door jerked Steve out of his thoughts and back into his office, where he sat at the desk, staring at the computer screen. He looked up as Danny entered through the door. 

“Hey.” he said coming to sit on the side of Steve’s desk “Everything ok? You’ve been in here all afternoon.” 

“Yeah, I’m just, looking over some stuff. Getting caught up on everything I missed while I was out.”

Danny looked at him suspiciously. “Really, what kind of stuff?”

“You know” Steve replied, discretely trying to close down the window on the computer “just some reports, case notes, making sure everything’s in order.”

“Uh-ah, or you could be lying though your teeth and-“ Danny reached over and turned the computer screen, sighing when he saw what was still on it. “Steve, how many more hours are you going to spend staring at these?”

“Until it makes sense.” Steve said, pulling the computer back towards him. “Shepherd was prepared. Not just prepared, meticulous. Something like this would have taken months of planning. He targeted me for a reason and I want to know why.” 

“I know.” Danny said, placatingly “I know. But staring at those pictures all day isn’t going to give you any answers. If anything it’s just gonna mess with your head more. Remember the part where the doc said you to ease yourself back into things? Oh, speaking of which, I have a present for you.” 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular box, which he tossed to Steve. 

“What is it?” Steve asked, turning the box over in his hands, examining the picture on the front.

“That, Steven, is a thermometer. It takes your temperature and tells you when you’re sick and running a fever. You keep it in your house for such occasions.”

“I’ve told you Danno, I don’t get sick.”

“I beg to differ.” Danny snorted.

“I was poisoned. There’s a big difference.”

“Fine, then keep it in case you get poisoned again.” 

Steve studied the picture on the box again, then quirked his eyebrow at Danny. “You are aware of what this looks like right?”

“It’s a thermometer Steve, get your mind out of the gutter.” 

“It doesn’t look like a thermometer.” 

“They’re different now a days.” Danny said waving his hand “They’re all digital. You run it across you forehead and it scans your body temperature, I don’t know, it’s supposed to be more accurate than the old ones you put under your tongue.”

“So I guess that means the flashlight trick is officially dead?” Steve said.

“Yeah, well my mom never fell for that one anyway.” Danny said with a shrug.

“Mine neither.” Steve said with a smile “Thanks man. I appreciate you looking out for me.” 

“What are friends for?” Danny replied with a smile of his own. “You ready to get out of here? We’re all talking about going to Sidestreet and I was nominated to come drag you out of ‘the McGarrett Fortress of Solitude’.” 

“Yeah.” Steve said, shutting down the computer, and with it all the images from the case file on Shepherd. “Let’s go.”

The bar was as crowded as it would be any other Friday night; not too much that the four of them couldn’t find a table to gather around, but also not too dead that their rowdy laughter would be frowned upon. It felt good, sitting there with his friends, choking on a poorly timed swig of beer during one of Chin and Kono’s many sordid tales of the Kelly/Kalakaua clan. It was normal. Steve needed normal, they all did. 

“Wait.” said Danny, wiping his chin with the back of his hand “Just so we’re clear, this is the uncle with the moonshine right?”

“No this was his father.” Kono said with a smirk. “Needless to say anything he brought to holiday gatherings from that point on was casually misplaced.”

“No but the best part was,” Chin said with another burst of laughter “that one of our cousins got such a wicked case of the munchies he went back for seconds. Uncle and my dad had to chase him down three blocks trying to get him to take his pants off his head!”

The team exploded with laughter again.

“Ahhh, I just wish there was video.” Kono said with a deep inhale. “I was too young to realize what was going on, so I missed most of the action.” 

“That’s just because it wasn’t happening to you.” Danny pointed out, causing Kono to quirk an eyebrow at him.

“Something you wanna tell us Danny? Is there a video of you running around high as kite with no pants somewhere in the depths of New Jersey ?”

“Cause if there is we’re gonna find it.” Chin chimed in, gesturing with his beer bottle.

Danny rolled his eyes. “Thankfully no such footage exists. However, I may or may not, during my first weekend of college, have hypothetically drunk dialed my parents, and if that were the case, which I’m not saying it is, then my dad might have saved the hypothetical recording on the answering machine and hypothetically will be holding it over my head for all eternity.” 

“Hypothetically of course.” Chin said with a sly smile.

“I would pay money to hear that.” said Kono.

“Yeah, well, how about next rounds on me and we’ll agree to forget all about it? Hey, Steve, come help carry would ya?” 

Steve downed the rest of his Longboard in a single gulp and stood up to follow Danny to the bar. However, Danny pulled Steve over to a less populated spot against the wall and fixed him with a searching look.

“What?” Steve asked, staring back at Danny.

“You tell me. You’ve been quiet tonight.”

“Sorry, Danny, I guess I just like to listen to my friends’ stories rather than interject every five syllables like you do.” 

“Steve if something’s bothering you-“

“Nothing’s bothering me Danny” Steve said calmly. “Ok? I’m fine. I’m just enjoying sitting back and listening, is that such a big deal?”

“No, it’s not. But I can tell something is bothering you.”

“Do you think maybe you’re just transferring?”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Danny said exasperatedly.

“Well I know how much you’re gonna miss having Grace this weekend, so all I’m saying is it’s possible that you’re projecting your feelings on to me.” Steve said knowingly.

“What feelings? I’m fine. I’m having a great time. And you, my friend, are not getting off the hook that easily. Four Longboards please” he added turning to the bar tender.

Danny leaned against the bar in a huff. There may be some truth to what Steve was saying. Rachel had taken Grace to England for two-weeks to spend time her side of the family. Danny had agreed to the compromise of giving up his weekend in exchange for having Grace for a whole week once they returned, but still, he’d be missing his little girl like crazy until then. Still, as Steve was leaning against the bar next to him, staring at him with his kicked puppy expression whenever he thought Danny wasn’t looking, he was sure there was something else.

“One thing.” Danny said exasperatedly “I will settle for you telling me one thing that is bothering you tonight. Can you give me at least that?”

Steve ducked his head and began the art of drilling a hole in the bar top with his gaze. “I pulled a gun on you.” he finally explained to the scratched, beer stained, wood surface.

“That’s it?” the words flew out of Danny’s mouth faster than he could plan them. “That’s what’s bothering you?”

“Yes.” Steve said heavily, still refusing to look up.

“Steve…I- it’s not like it hasn’t happened before. As I seem to recall, drawing our guns on each other was how we first met.”

“This was different Danny-“

“You’re right. This time, I was absolutely sure you weren’t going to shoot me.”

“Yes I was.” 

“No you weren’t.”

“Yes I was Danny!” Steve finally pulled his head up and fixed that laser focus on Danny. “I had every intention of shooting you. You weren’t real, or I thought that you weren’t, I was completly out of my mind and I still don’t know how you managed to talk me down but if you hadn’t- I almost killed you Danny! And I can’t help but think that, that’s what Shepherd had planned all along. That he was gonna make me responsible for hurting the people I care about, because he knew that would destroy me, and I need to know how, and why, in case he comes back-“

Danny reached over and seized Steve by the shoulders, feeling him threatening to shake apart in his grasp.

“Hey.” Danny said firmly. “Listen to me, it’s over Steve. Shepherd’s gone. He’d be an idiot to try to go after you again.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about” Steve confessed.

“I know.” Danny replied. “Cause you’re the mighty Steve McGarrett and you always gotta protect everyone, from everything, it’s who you are and I get that, and I love that about you, but you gotta relax. Shepherd’s not the boggyman. He’s not hiding in the closet waiting to jump out at you. And he didn’t just disappear, we’ve got the whole island looking for him and it’s just a matter of time before we find him. But in the mean time can you please, just for an hour, relax and enjoy having few beers with your friends? Please?”

“Yeah.” sighed. “Yeah, ok.”

“Thank you.” Danny said. “Thanks.” he said again, this time acknowledging the bartender who had brought over their order. Danny handed two bottles to Steve, grabbed the other two, then lead the way back to their table.

“Everything ok?” Chin asked casually enough, but giving Steve an assessing look as he accepted his beer from him.

“Yeah” Steve replied with a quick smile that convinced no one.

“I’m glad you decided to come out with us, boss. I feel like we haven’t seen you these past few days.” Kono said to Steve with an adoring look. “We missed you. Even Danny admitted it.” 

“Well you must have misunderstood me, because what I actually said was I’ve missed being able to drive my own car. To get in and out and on the road without having to readjust the seat and mirrors back from a position that accommodates someone who inhaled steroids as a child.”

“Your love overwhelms me Danno.” Steve said dryly.

Everyone at the table laughed.

Just then Danny’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket, he withdrew it, looked down at the screen and smiled. 

“It’s Grace.” he explained to the rest of the team. “I’m gonna go outside and take this.”

“Tell her ‘Hi’ from us!” Kono called after him.

Danny waved to acknowledge he’d heard her, and pushed through the front door. Once outside of the building, he tapped the screen to answer.

“Hey Monkey!” he said brightly

But it was his own voice he heard back, slightly muffled, and coming from right behind him, before everything went black…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt the need to explain the thermometer joke. I'll let you be the judge of what it looks like.   
> http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-dfce/k2-_f83cec12-b28d-49ba-96fc-a3d883a9350f.v1.jpg


	2. Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A kidnapped Danny wakes up in his worst nightmare, while the rest of the team thinks he’s safely at home.

Steve took his vibrating phone out of his pocket and looked down at the screen.

“It’s Danny.” he informed the others. “I guess he’s tired and is gonna call it a night.” 

Chin nodded sympathetically. “He must be having a rough time with Grace being out of the country.” 

“Can’t say I blame him.” Kono agreed. “Still, you think he would have at least come in to say good-bye. He didn’t even touch his beer yet.”

 _She has a point._ Steve thought, and hit the ‘Reply’ button next to the message.

“I’ll text him back, make sure he’s all right.” he said. 

_-You ok buddy? It’s still pretty early and you’ve got a cold one That You Paid For just sitting here.-_

_-Yeah, I just feel like being by myself right now. You understand. And you and Chin can arm wrestle Kono over who get’s the Longboard, but my money’s on the rookie. Grace says ‘Hi’ by the way. I’ll see you tomorrow. Night.-_

“What’d he say?” Kono asked as Steve put his phone away.

“He said he just feels like being alone and he’ll see us tomorrow. I’m sure he’s fine. He probably needs to go home and mope for a while. Also,” Steve said sliding the abandoned Longboard toward himself “he told me I could have his beer.” 

************************************************************************* 

Danny’s head is throbbing, he’s also dimly aware that he’s lying on hard ground. _What’s the last thing he remembers? Come on it’s not hard. They were at Sidestreet…Chin and Kono were telling funny stories…Steve was acting; well like Steve does when the microchip in his brain that suppresses all human emotion malfunctions….he’d gone outside to take a phone call….a phone call from Grace…except it wasn’t….son of a bitch did he just get mugged? He should really get off the ground and go get help…the rest of the team is just inside…._

Danny grudgingly sits up…and his head brushes against a solid surface….

 _No…no…that’s not right…he’s outside still…he hit is head and it’s playing tricks on him…_

He opens his eyes but there’s nothing but darkness…he rubs them hard but the blackness doesn’t recede…. _Did they hit him so hard he went blind?!_ …he lifts his hands in front of his face, he can just make out the shape of his fingernails. 

_Ok good. He’s not blind…but then why is it so dark? Why is it dark and why is his head hitting a ceiling, sitting up?….He’s not blind. His head’s not playing tricks…this wasn’t a mugging. And he’s not outside anymore._

“Ok” he whispers to himself. “Ok. Ok. Ok. Think. Ok, low ceiling. Doesn’t mean anything. You’re ok. There’s a way out, you just gotta find it. Ok let’s go.” 

Leaning down on all fours he starts crawling to his right, but only makes it three paces before he comes in contact with a solid wall. He crawls back to his left seven paces, another solid wall. Four paces behind him, eight in front from that point. Danny’s no hand at math but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that he’s trapped in a small box.

“No. Nononono. There’s a way out, there’s gotta be a way out. You’re gonna find it, just focus.” 

He frantically runs his hands over every inch of the floor, the ceiling, all round each wall feeling nothing but smooth solid surface. He keeps at it for what feels like hours, but maybe it's just minutes, _How long had he been knocked out for anyway? Was the air this thin before? No it’s just his imagination. The air’s fine. The air’s gotta be fine. The air is fine._ Then finally his fingers catch on the slightest crack in the smooth surface. 

Danny pauses, he moves his hand carefully to the left and feels the texture of the wall change to rough and scratchy. _Wood. A door!_

He runs his hand over the splintery surface then shifts to his back parallel to where he thinks the center is and thrusts his foot forward in a hard kick. The sole of his shoe makes contact with a loud crack. _Yes. That’s it. Almost there._ He kicks out again. And again. And again, but the wood dosen’t burst out into the light and air just behind it. 

Danny shifts onto his knees as much as the low ceiling will allow and throws his entire body weight against the door, over and over, his shoulder a frantic battering ram, until he’s bruised, and sweating, and gasping for breath. _The air’s not getting thinner. It’s not._ But still his escape remains guarded. He runs his hands over the wood again. _He’s just hitting in the wrong place that’s all._ Up and down, right to left, until his fingers make contact with something new. 

“No.” he whispers running his fingers over the cold metal. “No! NO!” he slams his palm against the door before crumpling to heap in front of it, the weight of the sobering reality crushing him down. Hinges. The door swings inward from the outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know I trapped our precious claustrophobic cinnamon roll in a box, and I'm going to hell for it. I didn't enjoy doing this to my baby angel Danno, but it will all make sense in the end...


	3. Without a Trace

_‘“Steve, this the sixth time I have tried calling you, my friend. I’m on my way to your place right now but I would still appreciate it if you would answer your phone, or call me back, something to let me know that you’re not currently lying dead in a ditch somewhere, you…just be there when I get to your house ok?”’_

He replayed the message again on his voicemail. _Is this how Danny had felt that morning?_

Six hours. Six hours and seventeen minutes since Danny still hadn’t shown up for work and they officially started to worry. Chin had tried pinging his cell but there was no signal, and that was enough for the three of them to drive over to Danny’s place, Steve taking the lead and debating whether or not to turn on the sirens. 

_“Why is it that you never think to switch those things on when we’re actually in pursuit of an actual criminal, but when it's a personal mission, your finger flies to the switch?”_ Steve could almost hear his partner gearing up for a rant about _‘proper police procedure, Steven’._

They’d arrived at Danny’s house to find it empty. No signs of forced entry or a struggle, Danny’s gun and badge stowed away in the locked cabinet where he usually keeps them, Camaro parked in the drive way, but Danny was no where to be found. Almost like he’d suddenly dropped off the face of the earth….like he

 _“Probably dropped himself off a cliff or something.”_

Chin had, had to pull Steve off the young rookie he overheard say that, but not before letting the SEAL get a good sucker punch in. Kono took over wrestling Steve back to his truck while Chin read the little prick the riot act.

“He wouldn’t do that.” Steve ground out through his tightly clenched jaw. “Danny would _never_ …he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t do that to Grace!” 

“Steve” Kono said firmly “I know that. We all do. Danny’s all right and we’re gonna find him.”

The two of them stared intently at each other, both wondering who they were trying to convince: the others or themselves. 

“Steve” a gentle voice caught his attention, and Steve only realized he’d closed his eyes in an attempt to catch his breath, when he opened them to find Duke surveying him with a steady gaze.

“We’ve got everything under control here.” Lukea said, indicating to the full team of crime techs and HPD uniforms who were surrounding Danny’s house. “There’s an APB out on Danny, I’ve got my guys checking hospitals, and the techs need time to process. Why don’t you and Kono go back to your HQ and regroup. We’ll call you if we find anything.” 

Steve opened his mouth to argue but Kono laid a hand on his shoulder and nodded assuredly at him.

“He’s right, we should get out their way.” she said.

“We can’t just sit around and do nothing!” Steve didn’t mean to snap at her, he swore he didn’t. But Danny’s out there somewhere, alone, possibly hurt, possibly-. Nothing is happening fast enough and he can’t just stand back and wait.

“I’m not saying that.” Kono replied cooly. “We’ll go back to HQ, start working on retracing Danny’s steps after he left the bar last night. Why don’t you go wait in the truck, Chin or I will ride back with you, just give us a minute ok?”

“What about-?” Steve nodded curtly to the rookie who was still clutching his bleeding noise, and being chewed out by Chin.

“Don’t worry.” Duke sighed “I’ll let Lt. Kelly do the honors of finishing up and then send him home. Kid shouldn’t be surprised to find he’s being reassigned to the graveyard shifts.” 

“Thanks Duke.” Steve said, allowing his voice to soften a bit. 

“No need.” the sergeant replied heavily “Danny’s one of ours. You don’t say those sorts of things about a fellow offer. I won’t have it.”

Duke patted Steve briefly on the shoulder before heading back out, and Steve allowed Kono to steer him into the cab of the Sliverado, where he sat, replaying that voicemail over and over, clinging on to Danny’s voice like a tether line. _Nothing about this made sense. Less than twenty-four hours ago they’d all been sitting at the bar together, laughing and joking, Danny once again finding an excuse to bitch about Steve driving his car-…_

In one swift movement Steve vaulted out of the truck and was sprinting toward the driveway.

“Steve? Where are you going?” Chin called after him, but Steve wasn’t paying attention.

He pulled the spare key to the Camaro, the one he’d thought he’d never hear the end of it about, out of his pocket and unlocked the driver’s side door; one quick sweep telling him all he needed to know.

“I need all units processing this vehicle now!” he ordered.

“Steve what is it?”

“What’d you find boss?” 

Chin and Kono were at his side, looking at him with almost identical questioning expressions.

“Look at the rearview mirror.” Steve pointed out “Look at the angle in relation to the position of the seat.”

“It doesn’t match up” Chin mused, catching on. “Which mean-”

“Danny wasn’t the last person driving this car.” Kono concluded. “Somebody has him.”

“Exactly” Steve said “Whoever took Danny drove his car back here to throw us off. They moved the seat back into the right position, but they forgot to readjust the mirrors. Which means there might still be evidence here, so I need it processed, every inch of it, and I need it processed now. Do it. Let’s go.” _Hang in there partner. We’re coming._

******************************************************* 

“Ok-ok-ok, uh, Castillo’s behind the plate, Beltran’s on the mound…shit-shit-shit, uh…Beltran…Beltran’s on the mound….outfeild-outfeild is Allensworth…Allensworth, Becker…and…shit!”

Danny’s arms are locked tightly around his knees, which are drawn up to his chest. He bites down hard on his bottom lip, trying to regain focus. He’s stuck on the '98 roster, he’s lost count of how many times he’s tried. Every effort seems to make the information slip further and further away and it’s not providing the distraction he needs. 

He thought he heard movement on the other side of the door a few times, but it’s probably just his imagination playing desperate tricks on him. _How long has it been? Long enough that the team is looking for him?_ He reaches out and bangs his hand against the door uselessly, no one is going to hear him. _He’s stuck. He’s stuck and there’s no way out._

“Shit, shit, shit, shit…” he murmurs burying his head against his knees, body involuntarily rocking back and forth. There’s no way to relieve the pain that feels like an elastic band is crushing his chest, but his body seems to think that will help. He’s not in control of it any more, his breath comes in shallow pants, his heart is palpitating against his too tight ribs, sweat is coating his back and forehead making him shiver. _He has to get a grip. Come on Williams. Come on you can do this. Do something._

“Grace Elizabeth Williams.” a sheer force of will to survive draws her name out of him. “Born May 23rd, 2002, 3:06pm. 7lbs. 2 oz. Said her first word Febuary 8th, 2003. She said ‘Dada’ while we were in the car running errands. Took her first steps May 2nd, 2003, made it six whole steps across the living room. May 23rd, 2003, she shoved her whole face right into the center of her first birthday cake…” a manic burst of laughter escapes him, though not at the memory, fond as it is, but the irony that the thoughts of his baby girl are keeping him sane, while the idea of never seeing her again is pushing him over the edge. 

“Anytime would be good now guys!” he calls out to the team, somewhere just beyond the oblivion of his tomb. He chuckles widely again and sighs. “2004 was the year of potty training. First day of pre-school was September 3rd, 2005….” 

_He can do this. He can hold just a little longer. They’ll find him. They’ll be here soon…._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for my general lack of knowledge of the New York Mets. I googled the best I could.


	4. Waking Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team struggles to find a lead, while Danny struggles to keep his will to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, fair warning: this chapter makes me cry and I wrote it.

Danny came to with a sharp in take a breath that sears his lungs. _He passed out, he must have, the last thing he remembers is starting to hyperventilate and telling himself to clam down before he caused himself to pass out. He hadn’t had any claustrophobia nightmares since he was a kid, must be the stress of all the shit that’s been happening with Steve getting taken by that psychopath these past few weeks. At least it was over now._

He blinks his eyes several times but the darkness doesn’t clear. It wasn’t regular darkness either, but total, heavy, oppressive darkness that seems to close in around him and can feel almost as bad as being surrounded by four condensed walls. He reaches his hand out to turn on the lights but feels only a splintery wooden surface. 

_It's not a dream_

He lets out a cry that gets lodged in his throat, and he feels like he’s actually choking on it. His breath comes in ragged, shallow gasps, and Danny knows he’s in danger of hyperventilating again.

“Stop it.” he tries weakly to tell himself. “Stop it. They’re coming. They’re gonna be here any second. Just think about Grace. Think about Grace…” 

He’s rocking again and breathing much too shallowly, and now thinking about Grace is just making him lose it more.

“I’m sorry Monkey. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to leave you. Not like this. I’m sorry…” 

_He can’t hang on any more. It’s over. He can’t catch his breath. He’s going to asphyxiate in here and the team will find his body. All he can do is send a silent apology to his daughter on the other side of the world, and try to telepath to Steve to take good care of her like he knows he will, and pray that they both can hear him somehow._

_‘bing’_

A sudden light illuminates in the center of the darkness. Danny’s never been the religious type, but this isn’t exactly how he thought “going towards the light” would be. But then his eyes adjust and he can see it, and it’s like the Calvary coming; his cell phone! 

He launches towards it and snatches it up in his trembling fingers. Grace’s beautiful face is shining on the screen behind a pop up notice: _battery low._

_But it doesn’t matter because now there’s light, and hope. The kidnapper didn’t take his phone, he’s saved! All he has to do is get a call out then the team can track his phone, it’ll lead them right to him and now he knows he can hang on because it’s almost over…._

_It’s a cruel joke. The kind of thing that would only happen to him. He should have known better than to hope he’d be saved._ Zero bars. No service. He shines the light along the wall and confirms his own suspicions; the walls of his tomb are concrete. _There’s no way he’ll be able to get the call out, and no way, even with all the gadgets at HQ, that they’ll be able to ping his phone. They don’t know where he is. No one’s coming._

All that’s left for him to do is curl into a ball on the floor and let the tears flow unchecked, and now he’s crying hard. _Why not? No one is around to see him. He always figured he’d die alone, but he never expected it to be this desolate in the end._ He runs his trembling fingers across Grace’s image, _God what wouldn’t he give to be with her one last time._ He looked at the time, almost five o’clock. He was never good with time differences, but he figures it must be getting late were she is, probably close to bedtime. He let’s his mind drift to where his heart longs to be, imagines tucking her in, kissing the top of her head, settling in next to her for a bedtime story like he’s done a thousands treasured nights before. 

“Once upon a time,” he finds himself saying to her picture “There was a beautiful little princess. And let me tell you she was one heck of a princess too, not like those damsels in distress at all; she was smart, and brave, and kind, the kindest person in the world, and had a great right hook. This beautiful princess lived in an enchanted kingdom with her very big, very loving, family. See the king and queen, her parents, well they were from very different kingdoms and they didn’t really ever know how to make those kingdoms work together, but that’s ok, because sometimes those things they just happen, but they both still loved their little princess more than anything in the world." 

"Well one day a terrible villain came along and he, ah, he locked the old king in a dungeon, and he couldn’t get out. And he tried; he tried so hard because all he wanted was to come home to his princess, but some dungeons you can’t escape from. And it made him so sad because he was going to miss the little princess so much, it broke his heart. But he knew she’d be ok because she was a brave, strong, smart, girl and he knew she’d find a way to go on without him. And the king had a lot of good knights in his kingdom who would always be there to take care of the princess when he couldn’t, and make sure that she was happy and loved. And maybe one day, a long, long, long, time from now, maybe they’ll all get to see each other again. But until then you just gotta know how much I love you Monkey. I will always love you and I’ll always be with you. So you be good ok?” 

He draws the phone in and gently kisses the picture, blinking furiously against the tears that are obscuring the beloved image. And just like some magic out of a fairytale, the tears clear, and there it is…. 

*************************** 

Steve urgently rushed towards the tech table. He had just gotten off the phone with Rachel, telling her what they knew, not to worry, and most importantly, that it wasn’t time to tell Grace yet. Danny would probably kick him in the head for calling his ex about this, but Grace was the last person Danny had talked to, and even Danny would admit it was better than involving her. Especially now since,

“The call didn’t come from Grace.” 

“What?” Kono stared at him with wide eyes.

“The call from Grace Danny left to take wasn’t her.” Steve rushed to explain. “Rachel said Grace had set an alarm to wake up and call Danny, but she slept through it. Rachel had to come in and turn it off.”

“If it wasn’t Grace then it had to be the kidnapper luring Danny into a trap.” Chin concluded grimly and Steve felt the over powering urge to break something. 

Kono mean while was typing away at hyper speed on the tech table. “All right, I’m dumping Danny’s phone records now. “ A few more taps and she was able to highlight the supposed call from Grace. “Come on, come on…got it! The call was spoofed and coming from burner phone.”

“Can you trace the cell tower?” Steve asked hopefully.

“Give me a minute. I can try, but there’s still no guarantee that the kidnapper didn’t ditch it.” 

“It’s better than nothing, run the trace.” Steve turned to Chin “Where are we on Danny’s past cases?” 

“I’ve been cross referencing recent parolees with TSA manifests but so far nothing’s turned up. If they targeted Danny this specifically it’s more likely someone he put away back in New Jersey who still holds a grudge.”

“We can’t rule anyone out.” Steve said rubbing his temple in frustration. “What about his cases with HPD? Or one of the sumbags Five-0 locked up? Any of them could be using Danny to get at the team.” 

“I’m trying Steve, we all are.” Chin said seriously. Steve could hear the subtext in his tone. _You’re not the only one who’s feeling this. We all care about Danny._

“I’m sorry.” Steve told the cousins somberly.

“It’s all right, brah.” Kono told him with a weak smile.

The solemn silence was broken by the audible vibration of Steve’s phone in his pocket. He withdrew it and frowned at the display screen. 

 

 ** _-Unknown Caller-_**

 

 _He didn’t have time for random or sales calls. But this job meant he was obligated to answer his phone._

“McGarrett.” he barked testily. _This had better be pretty damn important._

Silence.

“McGarrett.” Steve snapped, he was just about to hang up when the vaguely sinister chuckle came drifting over the line.

“Who is this?” Steve demanding, jabbing the speaker button and motioning to Kono to start a trace. 

“Hello, Steven.”

Steve felt like his veins had been injected with ice water. He started at the phone transfixed with shock. _He knew that voice. He would never forget that voice as long as he lived._

“Shepherd.” he ground out.

The dark chuckle rang out again. 

“Where’s Danny?” Steve demanded as his brain struggled to catch up to the nightmare turned reality. “What have you done with him?”

“Temper, Steven. It really will get you into trouble one of these days. You should take a moment to consider how your words sound before you speak them. I think your partner is a bad influence on you.”

The jab about Danny seemed to seer across his very skin.

“You listen to me.” Steve ground out in a deadly voice. “Listen to me you son of a bitch. Let Danny go, you understand me. This is between you and me. You let Danny go and you deal with me!” 

Shepherd laughed again. “As much as I enjoyed our sessions Steven, I’m afraid that your part has all ready been played.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? What do you want?”

“Do you know about phobias Steven? I doubt you do, given you pathological disposition to repress all emotions that could connect to fear, unless directly confronted with it of course. I imagine you’re afraid now. Afraid you’ll never see Danny again? Afraid of explaining to little Grace why you couldn’t save her daddy?” 

“You do anything to him and I swear I’ll kill you!” Steve looked desperately at Kono who shook her head and mouthed: _'He’s bouncing the signal'_

“Phobias are a rather interesting pathology.” Shepherd continued drolly. “Sometimes they’re deeply rooted in a childhood trauma. But sometime they exist in a person for no sound reason what so ever. You know in the 1960’s psychologists came up with the idea that prolonged exposure to the thing they were afraid of could actually rid a person their phobia. Quite affective too, “flooding” they called it. Of course that was in a controlled environment with patients whose phobia was a learned behavior. In an uncontrolled environment, with a patient whose phobia was innate, well I imagine it would be highly dangerous. The patient would almost certainly suffer sever panic attacks, hyperventilation which could lead to fainting, why I’d even venture that cardiac arrest or a complete psychological break would be in the realm of possibility in that scenario.” Shepherd paused. “And by the way, you can tell Officer Kalakaua to save her time. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that this is a burner phone and even if you do manage to unscramble my signal, I’m nowhere near Danny. And naturally I’ll be disposing of the phone in the Pacific Ocean once this conversation is through.”

“Tell me where Danny is.” Steve was using every molecule of his being to keep his voice under control. “Five-0 has full immunity and means, whatever you want we can give it to you, just tell us where to find Danny.”

“Clock’s ticking Steven.” was Shepherd’s only response before the line disconnected. 

“Tell me you got something! Anything!” Steve all but yelled. 

Kono shook her head, tears were prickling in her eyes.

“Steve-“ Chin started slowly. Steve jerk away from them, unable to face the truth of the situation with hung in the air like a giant weight waiting to drop and crush them all beneath it. 

“Steve.” Chin said again. “Danny’s claustrophobic…”

“I know.” Steve exhaled, running his hands over his face. “I know….” he whispered. The phone in his hand buzzed again. Steve stabbed furiously at the ‘answer’ button, not even bother to check the caller I.D. 

“McGarrett” he snapped. _So help him if one more person calls his damn phone…_

The line crackles with static, no audible response on the other end. _He really doesn’t have time for-_

“ _S-Steve?_ ” the horse whisper comes through and he nearly jumps out of his skin.

“Danny!”

**(To be continued)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the cliff hanger, I'm having some rather unpleasant medical tests done tomorrow and I probably won't be able to post the next chapter, but I'll try my best! Thanks so much for reading and the comments so far!


	5. Just Let it be Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny manages to get an S.O.S out to the team, but will they get to him in time?

He stares in disbelief. One bar. One, single, bar. He dares to hope against hope. Danny fights with every molecule in his body to keep his hand steady, fearful that even the slightest movement might lose the signal. His breath hitches in his constricted chest again as he hits the number on the speed dial. 

One ring, two, three, _come on, come on, come on, please. Steve come on._ After the forth ring the line clicks. 

“McGarrett” Steve’s voice crackles through he static and Danny wants to cry from relief, _because Steve’s there, he can talk to him, he can tell him to take care of Grace. Because he’s not going to die completely alone._ A pang of guilt hits in his heart over making his best friend listen to his final wheezing breaths, but he’s a selfish bastard and so damn scared, and he just wants Steve to keep talking to him. 

Danny tries to verbalize all this, but no sound is coming out of his open mouth. _He has to force his voice to cooperate. Steve might hang up any second. He has to. He has to._

“S-Steve” he manages to push the horse whisper out on an extraordinary puff of air. 

“ _Danny!_ ” he hears Steve exclaim and his whole body sags in the first tinge of relief he’s felt in an eternity. He draws his knees back into his chest and wipes his eyes on his sleeve. _Steve is talking to him and it’s so damn good to hear his voice, even if he’s only partially listening to the actual words._

“Danny? Are you ok? Where are you? Are you hurt? Danno? Danny answer me!”

“Here” Danny gasps out. Every word is costing him. His throat is raw and he doesn’t have much air left to form sound, but if Steve stops talking it’ll cost him even more.

“Danny, are you ok buddy?” Steve sounds worried, scared. It’s almost unnatural.

“No” Danny whimpers, _he’s trapped in a tomb, being suffocated to death._

“Buddy I need you to talk to me, can you tell me where you are?”

Danny shakes his head franticly before the back of his dulled brain tells him that Steve can’t see him. 

“No…dark…can’t…c-can’t get out”

“Danny, listen to me.” Steve says firmly, but with gentleness to his tone, “I need to focus on your breathing for me. I can hear you hyperventilating so I need you to take deep breaths, in through your nose, out through your mouth. Nice and slow. Can you do that for me Danno?” 

Danny shakes his head again, whimpering. He can’t admit to Steve that he’s running out of air. He can barely admit it to himself, but it’s happening. A sharp beeping tone cuts across the line, as if to single his time has run out.

“Ba-battery’s dying.”

“It’s ok Danny, Kono’s almost finished with the trace, we’re coming to get you, I promise, just hang on a little bit longer.”

“Steve…take…take care of G-Grace ok?” he sobs as best he can, barely coherent.

“I’ve all ready told you that’s your job Danno. We’re coming but you have to hang on! Just a little longer ok? Danny? Danny! Talk to me!”

“Bye Steve. Love you.” 

And that’s it. He sets the phone by his ear and lies down, curls up and listens to Steve’s fading voice calling his name. The low battery sign is flashing on the screen. It won’t be long now. The air is thin, the darkness is heavy, and he’s scared. More scared than he’s ever been in his life. He doesn’t want to die, but there’s a part of him that longs for his gun, at least it would be over quick. He closes his eyes and covers his face with his arms. _Just let it be over. Please. Just let it be over…._

*****

“No don’t you dare say goodbye. Danny, listen to me, you’re panicking, but you’re gonna get through this. We’re coming to get you all right? All right? Danny? Answer me! Come on partner stay with me! DANNY!” Steve is gripping the phone so tight in his hand it’s a wonder it hasn’t snapped in two yet. _Danny called. Danny’s alive! But he’s panicked, hyperventilating, and he said ‘goodbye’…._

“Steve!” Kono shouts as if this isn’t the first time she’s tried to get his attention.

“You got it?” he asks in a rush. Her fingers have been flying over the tech table for the past minute trying to pin point the signal on Danny’s phone. _The beeping sound. He said the battery was dying. They didn’t have much time, and neither does-_

“He’s here.” Kono says, eyes wide in disbelief.

“What? What do you mean he’s here?”

“This can’t be right.” Chin says as he bends over the tech table, drilling a hole with is gaze, as if daring it to lie to him.

Steve takes a look for himself at the blinking red dot, right in the center of I'olani Palace.

“You hear that buddy?” Steve says into the phone. “We’re gonna be there in just a minute. Everything’s gonna be-“ The hope that’s been sailing through his chest is snuffed out as quickly as it came, as the line clicks and the red dot disappears, and Steve can’t help the feeling of dread deep in his gut as if it has taken Danny with it. 

“We need to call a K-9 unit in.” Chin says urgently taking out his phone.

Steve shakes his head. “No time. I need blueprints of this entire building, every single nook and cranny, anywhere he could have stashed Danny, I want to know about it.” 

“Wait a minute.” Kono says thoughtfully

“What’cha got Cuz?”

“Nooks and crannies. The Palace was constructed at the height of the resistance against US Federalism. Which means this place is bound to riddled with safe rooms and smuggler’s holds, the perfect place to hide someone.”

“We need a security guard.” says Steve as he races towards the door, the others right behind him.


	6. Breathe

Steve’s heart feels as though it’s going to beat out of his chest as he flat out runs along the corridor, Chin and Kono right on his heels. As it turns out there are no less than seven known hiding spots within the walls of the palace, according to security. The place is now crawling with HPD back up and so far the first four hidden crawl spaces have been empty. He has to repress a shudder after seeing them, thinking of Danny being trapped inside there. 

“This is it!” Steve shouts to the others as they reach the painting described by the head of security; a water color landscape he’d never paid much attention to before. The three of them run their hands around the sides of the frame, but it’s Kono’s fingers that catch on the groove.

“Got it!” she exclaims digging her fingers in and pulling hard.

The painting flies forward and swings aside to reveal a small wooden door, about four feet off the ground.

“Danny?” Steve calls out, trying the handle, but it won’t budge “It’s locked, this has got to be it. Danny stay back from the door!” 

One well placed kick and the door splinter under Steve’s foot and crashes inwards. Steve hurls himself through the opening, Chin right behind him, while Kono holds up a flashlight, illumining a crumpled figure in the center of the room.

“Danny!”

It’s a tight squeeze and the two men have to crawl on hands and knees, but they manage to get their hands underneath Danny’s shoulders and carefully drag their friend out of what was his own personal hell. 

Chin pushes out of the doorway first and both he and Kono help to support Danny’s upper body as Steve guides him through and helps lower him safely to the ground. It’s then that Steve can drop to his knees and get a good look at his friend.

Danny’s only semi-conscious, shaking from head to toe, his hands clenched tightly in his disheveled hair, his breath coming in short, frantic gasps. 

“Danny. Danny it’s ok, you’re ok.” Steve says, hauling Danny up into his arms so that he’s resting against his chest. “I’ve got you buddy. You’re ok now, just breathe. _Breathe_ Danny.” 

“This is Lt. Kelly, we need EMS on the second floor, right hallway immediately, officer in distress. I repeat EMS to the second floor.” 

As Chin radios in, Steve carefully unwinds Danny’s fingers from their death grip in his hair and brings them down so that they’re clutching the material of his own cargo pants instead. Steve places a hand in the center of his best friend’s chest and draws him close, placing his cheek against the tear tracks outlined on Danny’s dirt streaked face. He keeps his own breaths slow and deep as he murmurs gently to his partner.

“That it’s Danno…you’re gonna be ok partner…Just breathe with me…you can do it. Keep breathing….I’ve got you now….stay with me.” 

“Hey! Back up! There’s nothing to see here!”

Kono’s on her feet suddenly, pushing back the suddenly encroaching swarm of HPD uniforms. Meanwhile Steve rubs his hand up and down Danny’s sternum, bringing the other up to softly stroke his hair, providing physical reassurance, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. 

“You’re gonna make it Danny. You will, I promise. Focus on my breath, breathe with me. You can do it.”

“What’ve we got?”

The EMTs have arrived and Steve is reluctant to relinquish his hold on Danny’s miserably trembling form. 

“He’s claustrophobic” Steve explains, tightening his grip, though no one’s made any attempt to remove Danny from his arms. “He’s been trapped in there for at least six hours, maybe more- he’s probably had multiple major panic attacks, he can’t breathe…”

“All right, keep him like that.” the EMT nods and begins digging out an oxygen tank and a mask which he hooks up and fixes over Danny’s mouth and nose. “Push five milligrams of alprazolam, we’ll move once he’s stable.” he says to the other medics who nod. One rolls up Danny’s sleeve and cleans the crook of his arm with an alcohol swab, while the other prepares the injection, then carefully pushes the needle into his arm and dispenses the contents. The effect is nearly instant. Steve feels Danny sag limply against him as his chest stops heaving and his fingers unfurl from their grip on his pant legs. 

The lead EMT nods at him, and, reluctantly, Steve helps them load Danny onto the gurney. He keeps a tight grip on his partner’s hand as they wheel him down the hall, past the murmuring crowd. 

****************************

“I can’t remember much” Danny said, staring down at his folded hands. “We’d gone out for a few drinks, the whole team, and around 8pm, I think it was, I got a phone call. According to the caller i.d. it was my daughter so I went outside to take it. But when I answered the call, all I heard was my own voice echoing back. Then I was ambushed from behind and blacked out. I woke up….in there. And that’s all I can remember.” 

Duke nodded, a look of soft pity in his eyes. “You did great Danny. That’s all I need from you. You want me to stay until Steve gets back?”

“Nah, I’m ok. Thanks Duke.”

The sergeant smiled briefly and clapped him on the shoulder before leaving him alone for the first time in forty-eight hours. He’d been grateful for the team's presence when he’d first woken-up in the hospital after the sedative wore off; Steve, Chin, and Kono all flanking his bedside, gently reassuring him that he was safe, and alive, and this all wasn’t some desperate dream. However, as he lay there with doctors, nurses, and his friends all fussing over him, the feeling of shame began to creep in. He didn’t like people knowing about his claustrophobia, he hated how weak it made him, and now he’d lost his shit not just in front of the team, but roughly half of the HPD precinct. _As if he wasn’t all ready enough of an outcast as far as they were concerned._

He was grateful that Duke was the one to take his statement, _at least Lukea didn’t make him feel like he was being judged, though the pitying look on his face was almost as bad._ He was also grateful that the sergeant had sent Steve off to get his discharge papers. In true Super SEAL control freak fashion, Steve hadn’t left his side for forty-eight hours straight. And while he wasn’t crowding Danny per-say, he also didn’t need Steve around to witness him being unable to stay in the bathroom for more than a minute without freaking out- forget about closing the door. He was glad the nurses had cleaned him up when he was first admitted, because just the mere thought of being in the shower right now started him shaking. _He hated being this weak. And it’s bad enough without everyone seeing it._

“Hey brah, how you feeling?”

Chin and Kono had appeared in the doorway, though they quickly moved into the room so as not to block the exit and send Danny reeling aging. _Great, they’re walking on eggshells because they’re afraid of setting him off._

Danny cleared his throat. “Good. Ready to get out of here.”

“Well I brought you your stuff” Chin said, handing Danny a duffle bag. “I couldn’t tell which hair products were yours and which were Grace’s, so I grabed everything.”

“Ha, you’re funny.” Danny said indigently, though he managed a smile. “Thanks buddy, I appreciate it.” 

“Well I brought you something to cheer you up” Kono chimed in brandishing a bakery box. “Who’s your favorite rookie?” she added cheekily. 

“Well there was this one kid, Mike, back in Jersey, real nice, always brought me coffee-I’m kidding!” Danny exclaimed as she withdrew the box away from him. “Thank you, this is really- I could actually kiss you right now.” he opened to box to reveal an assortment of both malasadas and coco puffs. 

“I’d curb that impulse if I were you.” Chin interjected raising his eyebrows at Danny.

“Lighten up Cuz” Kono teased. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind, Danny’s a great kisser.” she winked. Their first undercover assignment as a team, breaking up that gambling ring would always be an inside joke between the two of them, along with bad knees. 

“Ok, I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” Steve said as he entered the room. “All set partner, sign these and you’re free to go.”

“Great.” Danny replied taking the discharge papers from Steve. “Just, ah, give me a minute to get changed and we’ll go.”

“All right, I’ll bring the car around” said Steve as he helped himself to one of Danny’s malasadas. 

“I’ll give these to the receptionist.” Chin nodded as he took the signed forms from Danny. Kono simply gave him a quick hug and followed her cousin out the door without bothering with an excuse.

Danny cursed himself as he dug the fresh change of clothes out of the duffle bag. He glanced over to the door to the hospital room, willing himself to go and close it for privacy, but the mere thought made him shudder and he stayed rooted in place.

“Fuck.” he mumbled to himself and began changing under the hospital gown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was one big long ending, but there's a natural divide where I could split it up and make an epilogue as opposed to one monster chapter, so stay tuned, and as always thanks for reading!


	7. Orion & Makali‘i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue because I love Danny Williams much too much to leave his story without some sense of peace.

Steve heaved a frustrated sigh and finally rolled out of bed. It was nearly one in the morning; after hours of tossing and turning he had no choice but to give up on trying to sleep. His mind was racing with too many thoughts that sent adrelinie shooting through his veins. 

_Shepherd….Shepherd is gonna pay for what he did….for coming after Danny….when he finds the son of a bitch he’ll kill him….if he finds him….no not if, when….but how, the guy has a talent for disappearing into thin air…military training?….Possibly….He also clearly knows enough about chemistry and psychology to figure out how to exploit people….He knew that the team is his weakness…what if he comes after Kono or Chin next?…..No, unacceptable….they’ll circle the wagons…he’ll keep closer eye on his Ohana…Shepherd’s not coming near them again-_

Steve stopped suddenly as he paced by the window; something caught his eye, a figure out back, sitting in one of the chairs in the yard. Steve rushed to the bed side drawer and grabbed his gun, then keeping a close eye out the window to ensure the intruder didn’t move, he retrieved a pair of binoculars from the closet and flipped the night vision on. He sighed with relief, putting down both the binoculars and gun, and headed out back.

“Danny?” Steve asked gently as he approached, unsure if his friend was asleep or not. Danny turned to look at him, even in the dark Steve could see how pale he looked, the heavy dark circles under his eyes more pronounced than usual. 

“Hey.” Danny replied hoarsely, “Sorry, I- ah, I couldn’t sleep so I went out and just kinda- ended up here. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, I don’t mind. And I was awake anyways. I didn’t hear your car.”

“Uh, yeah” Danny said as he scrubbed a hand over his haggard face “I, um, I walked.” 

“You walked all the way here?” Steve knelt down and placed a concerned hand on Danny’s arm. “Jesus, Danno, you’re freezing, come on, let’s get you inside.”

“No!” Danny said abruptly, a wave of panic flashing across his face. He caught himself and immediately cleared his throat. “I mean, no, I’m all right. I should let you sleep. Sorry to bother you.” 

He tried to rise from the chair but Steve pushed him back into it. 

“Danny, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I just-“ Danny fumbled for words, not meeting Steve’s eye. “I need to be outside right now. It’s the only place I feel like I can breathe.” he let out his nervous laugh “Pretty pathetic right? Can’t even be in my own house without freaking out.”

“It’s not pathetic at all.” Steve said firmly. “What you went through was a serious trauma. No one expects you to just get over it. What about the Xanax the doc gave you? Is that helping?”

“No I hate that stuff, it makes me sick. I puke it up with the rest of my guts before it dose any good. I’ll be all right. I just need to clear my head.”

“How long as it been since you’ve slept?” asked Steve, his concern growing the longer he looked at his partner up close. 

“I don’t know. A while. I’ll nod off but then I wake-up pretty quickly…claustrophobia nightmares…” 

Steve shook his head. “This isn’t just your claustrophobia, Danny, there’s something else going on, isn’t there?” 

“I’m fine.”

“Danny please don’t lie to me. I know you better than that. What’s wrong? You can tell me.” Steve kept a warm, reassuring grip on Danny’s arm, feeling him shudder, as he cleared his throat again. 

“I…I- ah… I just can’t stop thinking about it, that place, being trapped in there. I thought I was gonna die, and I was so fucking scared…and I….” Danny dropped his head and turned away, ashamed of what he was about to admit, as hot tears burned beneath his tightly shut eyes. “I kept thinking that…. _I wanted my gun._ I wanted it to be over….fucking coward.” he spat bitterly before dissolving into the tide of misery that had been threatening to overwhelm him for days. 

Steve’s hand disappeared from his arm and Danny recoiled from the loss of contact. _He can’t blame Steve for being ashamed of him. He’s ashamed of himself._ But to his surprise, a pair of strong arms locked around him and his head was pushed into the warm comfort of Steve shoulder. One of Steve’s hands came up to cradle the back of his head, while the other rubbed soothing circles into his back.

“Shhh. It’s ok Danny. It’s all right.” Steve murmured gently against Danny’s hair. “It’s ok.” 

“How could I ever….how could I do that to Grace? I lost it in there, Steve. I’m so fucking weak, a coward, and now everyone knows it.”

“Listen to me Danny.” Steve doubled his grip at those words, to the point where he was now squeezing Danny to him. “You are _not_ weak, do you understand me? You are, without a doubt, the strongest person I’ve ever met, and you’re an amazing father, you love Grace, and you would never do anything to hurt her. You weren’t thinking clearly in there. Your brain was telling you that you were going to die but you held on. For _sixteen hours_ , you held on and you made it through. You are not a coward. A coward could have never survived something like that. What you went through in that hellhole, nobody could have asked anymore of you Danny. It’s over, you survived, you’re safe, that’s all that matters. All right?” 

Danny nodded against Steve’s wet shoulder and held on just as tight as he was being held. They stayed that way for several long minutes, until all the tears between them subsided. 

“You need to sleep.” Steve said definitively, drawing back and blinking the moisture away from his eyes. “Tomorrow we’ll go back to the doctor, see if he can give you something that’ll help without making you sick, but for now you need rest. You’ll feel better after a few solid hours.”

“I all ready told you I can’t.” Danny said weakly, scrubbing a hand over his face again. 

Steve just smiled in reply. “Wait right here” he said “I have an idea.” 

Steve retreated back into the house and returned a minute later, arms full of blankets and pillows.

“Here hold these for a minute” he said handing a majority of the load to Danny, then dropped a large bundle from underneath his arm and began unrolling it.

“The hell is that?” Danny asked staring at the large, squishy mound on the grass.

“Two-man sleeping bag.” Steve replied with a grin,

Danny chuckled. “Flattered as I am, I’m not that kinda guy, buddy.” 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Steve said as he began unzipping the over-large sleeping bag. “The only reason I even have it is because I barley fit in normal sized ones.” 

“Of course you don’t.” Danny commented as Steve began taking pillows and blankets from him and spreading them out across the ample expanse of the now open sleeping bag. “What else would you expect from someone who was grown in an army laboratory and fed testosterone five times a day.” 

“Navy.” Steve corrected, but smiled all the same. “There, shoes off, come lie down.”

“Don’t you think this is a little weird?” Danny asked, toeing off his shoes.

“Backyard’s pretty private with the tree line, and besides if the neighbors do come around to this side, all they’ll see is two guys who feel asleep stargazing.” Steve explained, producing what looked like a small sliver pen from the pocket of his sweatpants. 

“Stargazing? Really?” asked Danny skeptically.

“Just lie down and relax, Danno. You’ll see.”

Danny did as he was told, and settled into one of the little nests of blankets and pillows Steve had provided. He hadn’t realized how cold he actually was until he was underneath the blankets, and Steve made sure that he was completely covered by several of them. As Steve lay down beside him, Danny let his head sink a little into the pillow. A light breeze drifted across the ocean and played across his face, a gentle reminder that he was out in the open air, able to breath uninhibitedly. He looked up at the open sky and had to admit Steve wasn’t wrong; it was a beautiful clear night filled with a thousand stars, almost soothing in its way.

“No Orion though.” Danny muttered to himself.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking out loud. When I was a kid my claustrophobia sorta mixed with being afraid of the dark, so my mom taught me to just look for Orion when I was scared. Not sure why, guess it was just the easiest constellation for a kid to find, and it’s something that just always kinda stuck with me. Now I don’t recognize any of them.” 

“Here,” Steve said propping himself up on his pillow and twisting the little sliver pen, which turned out to be a laser pointer. “Easiest one for me is right there. You see that cluster of stars?” he asked directing with the laser pointer “That’s Makali‘i – ‘the little eyes’.”

“Little eyes? Seriously?”

“Yes, Daniel. The legend goes that they were all once one great, giant, beautiful star; a star that out shined the sun, day and night, and blinded the Earth. But Makali‘i was vain and boastful and would loudly declare to all the other stars that he was the brightest and the best.” 

“Hmm sounds like someone else I know. Did he carry grenades at all time too? Is that why he’s in little pieces up there, he blew himself up?” 

Steve rolled his eyes. “No, the legend goes that the other stars grew tired of Makali‘i s boasting, so the sun conspired with Sirius, the dog star, and second brightest in the sky, to chase Makali‘i out of the heavens and into the ocean. So one night Sirius snuck up on Makali‘i and chased him all across the sky, leaving a huge meteor shower in their wake. Makali‘i only managed to escape by diving into the Milky Way, but the current was too strong and he was split into five smaller stars. From that night on, the sun took back his reign and Sirius was the brightest star in the sky. But it’s said that on clear nights, the little eyes will look down at their reflection in the ocean and whisper among themselves that they’re more beautiful now as five than they ever were as one. And look right there next to them,” Steve gave the laser pointer a flourish “is Orion. He’s been with you all along Danny, you just didn’t know where to look.” 

Steve glanced significantly over at Danny, only to find is partner breathing lightly, his eyes closed, and a peaceful look on his face, sound asleep at last. Steve smiled to himself and chuckled lightly as he turned off the laser pointer and settled onto his own pillow.

“Night Danno.” 

 

**_End_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to sincerely apologize to all Polynesians for throughly butchering the story of Makali‘i. Basically, I took an astronomy class in high school and we got the choice to either take a cumulative final at the end -OR- we could research a consolation from another culture outside of Greek and Roman and turn the legend behind it into a children’s storybook to donate to the elementary school. After hours of googling I couldn’t find the legend again, so I basically was working from memory, from roughly eight years ago. Again, I apologize, please just take it as an artistic liberty. I just thought it would make for a sweet little moment about how Danny really does have a home in Hawaii, he just doesn't always see it.

**Author's Note:**

> I felt the need to explain the thermometer joke. I'll let you be the judge of what it looks like.  
> http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-dfce/k2-_f83cec12-b28d-49ba-96fc-a3d883a9350f.v1.jpg


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